Idiot Denver Post Writer

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So, here is an excerpt from this guys blog for the Denver post after the Avalanche lost to the Penguins over the weekend. Now, I'm not sure what his problem is....maybe it is because the Avalanche are fighting for their playoff lives and this was a huge loss for them, or he's pissed that that home team didn't get more support from home fans....I'm not sure.

First off, I never knew there were so many people from Pittsburgh who lived in Denver. Wow, for all the love they showed their Penguins tonight, you’d think they would never have left their beloved city in the first place. But there they were in their Stub-Hubbed glory tonight, sitting in the lower bowls of the Pepsi Center, cheering nonstop for the Penguins in their romp over the suddenly awful Avs again.

(One thing I’ll never ever do again: wear jerseys of my Boston teams in a foreign arena. Not because I would be afraid of being told off, but because I’ve finally come to realize after nights like tonight: that you look foolish. You look dorkish jumping up and down for a team whose city you don’t live in anymore, high-fiving all your phony new friends in similar jerseys around you. I think I finally agree with those who say: If you love your city and team so much, why do so many hundreds of you live in Denver or wherever? I think it’s kind of a big, sad overcompensating plea for attention, and I used to fall into that group too; you want so much for people to think “Hey, I’m from PITTSBURGH (or Detroit, or Boston or New York or wherever), that I’m going to act like every goal we score just won us the Stanley Cup and I’m going to lord it over you poor saplings from Denver – even though we live in your city now.” I finally realize now how annoying Red Sox fans are.)

So, this guy is suggesting the Pens fans look foolish. Is this guy honestly suggesting that if you go to a hockey game (any sporting event actually), you better be sure you are only a fan of the home team...or at least, don't wear the visiting team's jersey or cheer for them, otherwise you will look foolish?

The biggest "huh?" part for me was when he's suggesting that they loved the Pens or the city of Pittsburgh so much, then why are they in Denver. This is the most absurd comment I've ever seen. Some of those people may have travelled from Pittsburgh, that happens....but more importantly, who cares. I grew up in Nova Scotia...spent my whole life there until after University when I moved to Toronto to start my career. So, I grew up, spent approximately 20 years cheering for Detroit.....when I moved to Toronto, was I all of a sudden supposed to stop cheering for the Wings and change my team to the Maple Leafs? The writer didn't make a single logical point in his rant.

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Excellent points. The next time I go see the Wings play the Wild (the closest team to me), I will be sure to wear an Avs jersey and jump up and down when both teams score, just so I won't look like an idiot.

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Excellent points. The next time I go see the Wings play the Wild (the closest team to me), I will be sure to wear an Avs jersey and jump up and down when both teams score, just so I won't look like an idiot.

Silly, that's what that is.

That sounds like fun.

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See, if the Avs were playing at Pittsburgh, I'm sure he would have no problem with Avs fans showing up in large numbers and getting loud for their team. Don't like seeing a lot of fans for the visiting team? Tough luck - that's the business. It's unfortunate that he has to kick the proverbial dog just because his team blows and didn't have strong home ice support. This guy should probably just stick to writing articles about how awesome he thinks Tim Tebow is.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Red Reign

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Ha, I knew it! I saw the words "idiot" and "Denver" and immediately thought, "Dater!" Anyway, I'll be moving along...I don't waste time with Dater posts. No offense to the OP - it's pretty mind-blowing the first time you come across his work, isn't it?

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Ha, I knew it! I saw the words "idiot" and "Denver" and immediately thought, "Dater!" Anyway, I'll be moving along...I don't waste time with Dater posts. No offense to the OP - it's pretty mind-blowing the first time you come across his work, isn't it?

Haha, yes, it is mind blowing. This is my first exposure to this guy.

Edit....I should qualify my statement. With everything I've read over the years, I'm sure if I've seen something from him before, but I haven't taken notice of the author.

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People in Denver have a huge chip on their shoulders. It's like when Detroit would beat Colorado, in the heyday of the rivalry, all Avs fans could come up with was talk about Detroit's unemployment rate and say, "At least I live in Denver and not Detroit"... I'll probably piss off a lot of arrogant people in Denver when I say I've never had any desire to visit their city.

Other than 3 years in Windsor, I've lived my life about 45 minutes from downtown Toronto (3 hours from downtown Detroit), but been a Detroit and a Saskatchewan Roughriders (Canadian Football) fan since my Dad introduced me to sports at the age of 5. People don't always cheer for the local team. People like me, despite living in one Metro area, do have family ties to other cities, states, and provinces. Both sides of my family are originally from Saskatchewan. My Dad's side stayed there, my Mom's side moved to Windsor (after my parents got married they moved to Metro Toronto). I grew up with Detroit and Saskatchewan sports teams. I have Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, and Parents who are all Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, Michigan State, and Roughriders fans. When I'd visit my Grandparents in Windsor, Dad would take me to a Detroit game, when I'd visit my Grandparents in Saskatchewan, Dad would take me to a Roughriders game, which explains my cheering interests.

In this case of the OP, I'm sure a lot of those Pens fans have similar memories that I have, and I don't blame them one bit for still wanting to be a Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers fan, despite living in Denver.

I love his "Blood Feud" book, but this article really stinks. I was actually surprised to find that it was Dater. I usually give him the benefit of the doubt.

Have you ever heard Dater interview on the radio? The guy's a horrible interview. I can understand why he's a writer and not a tv/radio guy.

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People in Denver have a huge chip on their shoulders. It's like when Detroit would beat Colorado, in the heyday of the rivalry, all Avs fans could come up with was talk about Detroit's unemployment rate and say, "At least I live in Denver and not Detroit"... I'll probably piss off a lot of arrogant people in Denver when I say I've never had any desire to visit their city.

Other than 3 years in Windsor, I've lived my life about 45 minutes from downtown Toronto (3 hours from downtown Detroit), but been a Detroit and a Saskatchewan Roughriders (Canadian Football) fan since my Dad introduced me to sports at the age of 5. People don't always cheer for the local team. People like me, despite living in one Metro area, do have family ties to other cities, states, and provinces. Both sides of my family are originally from Saskatchewan. My Dad's side stayed there, my Mom's side moved to Windsor (after my parents got married they moved to Metro Toronto). I grew up with Detroit and Saskatchewan sports teams. I have Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, and Parents who are all Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, Michigan State, and Roughriders fans. When I'd visit my Grandparents in Windsor, Dad would take me to a Detroit game, when I'd visit my Grandparents in Saskatchewan, Dad would take me to a Roughriders game, which explains my cheering interests.

In this case of the OP, I'm sure a lot of those Pens fans have similar memories that I have, and I don't blame them one bit for still wanting to be a Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers fan, despite living in Denver.

Have you ever heard Dater interview on the radio? The guy's a horrible interview. I can understand why he's a writer and not a tv/radio guy.

I think that the author is missing a larger point: it doesn't matter where you live, you have every right to cheer for "your team" when they come to town. Right now, I'm living in Cleveland while I work on my Master's degree - I genuinely like the Cleveland Indians, Browns, Cavs, Lake Erie Monsters, Lake County Captains, etc. However, my heart is still in Michigan - so when the Tigers, Lions, Pistons, Grand Rapids Griffins, or Lansing Lugnuts roll into town, I'll be at the stadium cheering for my "home team." My guess is that a lot of those Pens fans would cheer for the Avs any other day of the week, but once their team rolled into town, it was a different story. Accept that as a sports fan - arenas would be boring if it was only fans of one team - don't act butthurt when the other team has a home game on your ice.

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People in Denver have a huge chip on their shoulders. It's like when Detroit would beat Colorado, in the heyday of the rivalry, all Avs fans could come up with was talk about Detroit's unemployment rate and say, "At least I live in Denver and not Detroit"... I'll probably piss off a lot of arrogant people in Denver when I say I've never had any desire to visit their city.

Other than 3 years in Windsor, I've lived my life about 45 minutes from downtown Toronto (3 hours from downtown Detroit), but been a Detroit and a Saskatchewan Roughriders (Canadian Football) fan since my Dad introduced me to sports at the age of 5. People don't always cheer for the local team. People like me, despite living in one Metro area, do have family ties to other cities, states, and provinces. Both sides of my family are originally from Saskatchewan. My Dad's side stayed there, my Mom's side moved to Windsor (after my parents got married they moved to Metro Toronto). I grew up with Detroit and Saskatchewan sports teams. I have Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, and Parents who are all Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, Michigan State, and Roughriders fans. When I'd visit my Grandparents in Windsor, Dad would take me to a Detroit game, when I'd visit my Grandparents in Saskatchewan, Dad would take me to a Roughriders game, which explains my cheering interests.

In this case of the OP, I'm sure a lot of those Pens fans have similar memories that I have, and I don't blame them one bit for still wanting to be a Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers fan, despite living in Denver.

Have you ever heard Dater interview on the radio? The guy's a horrible interview. I can understand why he's a writer and not a tv/radio guy.

It also not just that people don't always cheer for the local team...because in a lot of cases, there is no local team. In my case, growing up in Nova Scotia, there is no local NHL team. I ended up cheering for Detroit for strange reasons, but I was young and no matter how you start, the tie bonds you over time. A lot of people where I came from cheered for Montreal or Toronto or Boston. After I moved to Toronto I obviously didn't flick the switch and say "I guess I'm a Leafs fan now" - same with a cousin of mine who is a Leafs fan (born and raised in New Brunswick)....he moved to Calgary, he didn't all of a sudden become a Flames fan.

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